Like most car enthusiasts, I’ve been battling hazy, discolored, and yellowed headlights since the early 2000s. Heck, in 2019, after years of trying every trick in the book to clear my foggy headlights, I shared my carefully curated DIY secrets in a blog post. While it yielded fantastic results, it was also incredibly arduous and costly. Picture yourself hunched over your car for hours, wet-sanding with sandpaper from 1,000 to 3,000 grit in increments of 500, hands aching as if you’re chiseling a sculpture. Then comes the DA polisher dance: slathering on aggressive compound, switching to headlight restoration polish, and finally sealing it with paint protection. Sure, it’ll make your headlights gleam like they just rolled off the showroom floor, but it’s a grueling, wallet-draining effort, especially if you don’t already own a DA polisher (and who has $200 lying around for that?). Want to tackle this epic quest the classic way, just as I did in 2019? My guide below has all the gritty details. Or stick around to discover how I stumbled across a revolutionary product that (thanks to technological advancements made over the years), for around 20 bucks, does nearly as good a job as my old-school method.
Praise the Lord, it’s 2025, and science and technology have come a long way since 2019! About two years ago, a company named Cerakote released their revolutionary Ceramic Headlight Restoration Kit, and it has quite literally changed the game, making the laborious journey I wrote about in 2019 obsolete. From its ceramic coating final step to the no-power-tools-needed approach, this kit makes headlight restoration a breeze. For around 20 bucks, you get a package that includes everything you need, and I mean EVERYTHING!
Back in 2020, I purchased my daily driver, a 2009 Honda Civic EX, and immediately began making some tasteful modifications to enhance the joy of my daily commute and elevate its overall aesthetics, transforming it from a mundane commuter into an exciting car. Like many vehicles from the early 2000s, it suffered from hazy headlights. So, one of the first things I did was bust out my go-to headlight restoration trick to bring those lenses back to crystal-clear glory.
Below is what the headlights looks liked when I picked up the car.
Then what they looked like after I restored them back in 2020.
Now fast forward five years, and here is what the headlights look like today after living the last five years outside in the harsh Las Vegas sun.
I’m embarrassed and ashamed I let them get this bad.
I hate seeing cars with yellow, foggy headlights—especially modified ones. Yet, over the past few years, I’ve become what I despise. Life moves so fast, and sourcing all the accoutrements to restore my headlights felt so daunting that I kept putting it off. But over the last two years, it’s gotten unbearable. Now, walking to my car in the work parking lot, I fixate on how awful they look. As a car enthusiast, that shame hits hard, knowing I haven’t found time to fix them.
It’s quite honestly pathetic that I let them get this bad; I don’t even think they were this bad when I first purchased the car back in 2020.
I was sick of being a hypocrite and began to really put energy into trying to find time to restore my headlights again. However, the stars just never truly aligned for me to get both motivation, and time to go through the whole headlight restoration process.
One day, while browsing Amazon for no particular reason, I decided to check out the best sellers in the automotive category. After sifting through air fresheners, oil, microfiber cloths, and windshield wipers, there it was at #6: the Cerakote Ceramic Headlight Restoration Kit! It felt like a sign from above, urging me to finally tackle the hazy headlights on my daily driver.
Normally, I’m skeptical of anything sold on Amazon, especially cheap products promising amazing results. Life has taught me there’s no easy button—only hard work delivers. But at $17.95 with next-day shipping, how could I resist? Amazon’s liberal return policy gave me peace of mind: if the kit didn’t deliver results I’d be satisfied with, I could return it and pretend I never tried the easy way out for headlight restoration.
See below the other vehicles in my lineup; they are both impeccably clean and have clear headlights to boot. So there was no reason that my daily couldn’t also have clear headlights; I was just being lazy.
Now back to the Cerakote kit. As you can see, there are only three simple steps, and everything is clearly labeled so you don’t mess anything up. Plus, it comes with step-by-step instructions to guarantee the best results possible.
Again, just some pictures of how bad they look in the garage out of the sunlight.
Embarrassing! My headlights were substantially dimmer due to this level of haze.
Jumping right in, I started by opening the hood and masking off the painted areas around the headlights. This protects the clear coat and paint from harsh chemicals we will use, and since the kit involves sanding, the tape also prevents accidental damage to the painted panels.
If you care a lot about your paint and your car is in showroom condition, you might want to do a more thorough job than I did, but as you can see, my paint, especially my clear coat, isn’t in the best condition.
I mean, I did a pretty good job, but I might just use the 2-inch tape rather than the 1-inch one I used, which is all I had. Plus, going into this whole project, I was pretty pessimistic about the results it would deliver, so I wasn’t trying to spend time driving to the store to buy 2-inch wide tape. I would just double up on the 1-inch tape I had, and everything would be fine.
Starting off, the first thing the instructions say to do was to thoroughly wash the headlights with soap and water, which, in hindsight, probably would have been better to do before I put the tape on because once the tape starts to get wet, it starts to lose its tackiness.
But I wasn’t going to skip a single step in the instructions just so if it did deliver lackluster results then I could say that I did everything in my power to get great results.
So here I am cautiously using a microfiber, and a bowl of warm soapy water (that you can’t see because it’s on the ground) to thoroughly clean the headlights.
Keep in mind too that this was one of the hottest days of the year so far for Vegas, coming in at a scorching 111 degrees. This meant the soapy water was drying faster than I could apply it.
With the headlights all cleaned and dried, it was time to begin step one of the process. Cerakote’s proprietary step 1 oxidization remover was designed to remove surface oxidization in order to reduce the amount of further preparation needed before the final coating. The kit comes with a total of 8 oxidization remover wipes. The instructions recommend that you use all of them to yield the best results. So I used 4 on the right headlight and 4 on the left headlight.
After just one application, I can already see it making a difference.
This is one wipe; there are two sides to the wipe. Make sure you are using the rougher side that scrubs the headlights, ensuring all deep-down oxidization is removed.
Rub the wipes in a circular scrubbing motion across every part of the headlight and pay close attention to the nooks and crannies too. You can scrub in any direction; it’s not going to affect anything at this stage of the process because you’re going to sand in step two.
Yuck! Look at how yellow the wipe turned, and this is the second wipe I’m using. You should have seen the first one. At this point, I’m starting to be a little less skeptical because I can immediately start to see results, and I still have more steps to go.
Here’s the fourth wipe just removed from the foil pack.
Here it is after rubbing it on the headlight for the fourth time. As you can see, there really isn’t much yellow discoloration, which is a good indicator that all the oxidation has been removed.
See it below compared to the first one I rubbed on the headlight.
Next, the instructions state to ensure there is no chemical residue left from the oxidation removed on the headlight. So, I took a hair sprayer, filled it with water, and generously sprayed and wiped with a clean microfiber until I was certain all residue was gone.
Here it is all cleaned, and as you can see, there is already a big improvement.
On to step 2! The ergonomic surface prep pad and discs are designed to remove light scratches and deep oxidization while preparing the headlight for Ceramic Clear Coating. The kit comes with both 2000 grit and 3000 grit pieces of sanding paper that Velcro onto the prep pad. There are 4 pieces total: two of the 2000 grit and two of the 3000 grit, so you have fresh sandpaper for both headlights. Start with the 2000 grit first.
This time it is important that you sand the lens, the entire lens, in a uniform non-circular motion for 2-3 minutes. Because I wanted to yield the best results possible, I did it for a full 3 minutes. Then, because my headlight has some intricate areas that I couldn’t evenly reach, I removed the sandpaper from the pre-pad to get to hard-to-reach places. It even states this in the instructions: “extra effort on this step will give you the best results.” So, because I’m trying to achieve the best results possible, I spent another two minutes focusing on those hard-to-reach areas. Pro tip, be sure to keep the headlight lens wet the whole time. I just used the hairspray bottle and kept spraying the whole time I was sanding. The water both lubricates and ensures the sandpaper stays clean, so it’s as effective as possible.
Here’s what it now looks like after sanding with the 2000 grit. It’s important to make sure you evenly sand all the way to the edges of the headlights.
You can also see that my tape is starting to become saturated from all the water, and it is beginning to peel up and deteriorate. This is why I suggest using the 2-inch wide tape.
Next, again, you’re going to take the water sprayer and a clean microfiber cloth you’re using and thoroughly clean the headlight lens to ensure you have a clean surface so you can move on to the 3000 grit.
Just as you did in the prior 2000 grit step, use the hair sprayer and generously spray water onto the headlight and begin sanding in a uniform non-circular motion. I also did this for 3 minutes with the sandpaper on the pad.
And again, I removed the sandpaper from the prep pad and then began to sand the hard-to-reach spots for an additional two minutes.
Here you can see me getting to those hard-to-reach spots where the prep pad wouldn’t fit.
When done, again, take the water sprayer and a clean microfiber cloth and wipe any remaining residue off the headlight, ensuring it is clean from top to bottom and side to side.
After finishing the 3000-grit sanding, this is what the headlights look like now. Unfortunately, the previous owner of the car installed some Chinese HID lights, which caused permanent damage to the inside of the lenses, making it impossible to restore them to a factory-fresh, clear condition.
Aftermarket HID (High-Intensity Discharge) headlights can contribute to cloudiness or hazing on headlight lenses over time, particularly on the internal surface of plastic (polycarbonate) lenses. This is mainly due to excessive ultraviolet (UV) radiation emitted by many low-quality or non-OEM HID conversion kits, which lack proper UV-blocking filters. Factory-installed HID systems in vehicles are typically designed with projectors and UV-shielded bulbs to prevent this, but aftermarket kits retrofitted into halogen housings often lack these protections, leading to accelerated degradation of the plastic material. The UV radiation can cause the lens to become hazy, brown, or cloudy from the inside, reducing light output and visibility.
Because the foggy haze is on the inside of the headlight, there’s no easy way for me to address it. However, the rest of the headlight turned out amazing, in my opinion, and I still have to apply the third and final ceramic coating step.
The second thing I did when I first picked up this car back in 2020 was to immediately remove the aftermarket HIDs and reinstall halogen bulbs, but alas, the damage had already been done.
Before applying the final ceramic coat, the instructions explicitly state to make sure everything is dry because the ceramic coating is not compatible with water, and you risk damaging the lens if water contaminates the ceramic coating.
So again, in an attempt to yield the best results possible, I opted to remove the waterlogged tape and then used compressed air to blow out all the crevices.
Now for the third and final step! Cerakote Ceramic Headlight Restoration is a durable ceramic coating that bonds to the surface of headlights, restoring them to a like-new condition.
The instructions specifically state to apply the ceramic coating moving horizontally from top to bottom, overlapping by 50% as you work your way across the headlight. The instructions also state to allow at least 60 minutes of dry time before exposing the lights to the elements.
Below is just after I applied the coating; it became clearer after the coating dried.
There will be lots of gross, contaminated water, so make sure you don’t wash your car right before doing this; otherwise, you’ll have to wash it again, but you’ll have to wait at least 60 minutes before doing so. Honestly, I would wait a full day before I let water hit the headlights.
Here’s the other side. Again, the ceramic coating is still wet, so it’s not completely clear.
Because my paint isn’t the best, I just used some quick detailer and a clean microfiber to wipe away all the dirty water that was on the bumper. I missed the very bottom of the bumper because I can’t bend that far down.
Im very happy with the results.
Much better than when I started.
And now all dried and fully cured outside, and as you can see, they are pretty dang close to crystal clear. If it just wasn’t for the weird foggy spot on the inside of the lens that I assume was from the cheap HIDs getting the plastic too hot or the unblocked UV rays hitting a specific area for many years.
This angle does a great job of showing just how clear they are now.
I’m honestly floored with how well it came out, especially considering that the kit is only $17.95 and can be done in about 30 minutes’ time. I do want to reiterate that my headlights do have that preexisting internal damage caused by the cheap HID kit the prior owner had installed, which is why these might not look CRYSTAL CLEAR, but they are 100% better than the way they looked when I started.
The below picture is the BEFORE, and the one just above is the AFTER so you can easily make a quick comparison.
The CERAKOTE® Ceramic Headlight Restoration Kit is consistently rated as one of the highest headlight restoration kits for 2025 across multiple sources. It earns top marks for its ease of use, long-lasting ceramic coating, and effectiveness in restoring clarity without requiring power tools. The kit includes oxidation-removing wipes, a sanding kit, and ceramic coating wipes, offering a durable UV-protective layer that’s guaranteed to last as long as you own your vehicle. It scores a 9.7/10 on BestReviews.guide, with users praising its straightforward three-step process and ability to restore headlights to like-new condition, though results may vary for heavily oxidized lenses.
The reason my headlights began to yellow over time after refinishing them the first time is that the UV protectant coating I applied wasn’t designed to last more than a year or two. The manufacturer even recommends reapplying it periodically to maintain protection as the coating wears down from sun exposure, weather, and car washes. The sun’s ultraviolet rays are relentless, gradually breaking down the plastic in headlights, causing them to turn yellow and hazy, and once that UV protection wears off, it doesn’t take long for them to start yellowing.
Ceramic coatings offer longer-lasting protection than other options like silicone, polyurethane, acrylic, or epoxy-based products due to their superior chemical stability and resistance to UV rays, abrasion, and chemicals. Here’s how they compare:
- Silicone-based products: Typically last 6–12 months, offering limited durability.
- Polyurethane-based products: Can last 1–2 years but may degrade under prolonged UV exposure.
- Acrylic-based products: Often used in cheaper sealants, lasting 6–18 months.
- Epoxy-based products: Durable but less common for headlights and prone to yellowing over time.
Ceramic coatings, by contrast, can protect headlights for 2–5 years or more, depending on the product quality, application, and environmental factors like climate and cleaning frequency. Their durability has made them a popular choice for headlight restoration. While this ceramic coating restoration kit claims it’s “guaranteed to restore your headlights to like-new and protect them for as long as you own your vehicle,” I’m skeptical, as this likely assumes most people don’t keep their cars for more than 5–7 years. Still, this ceramic coating restoration kit is cheap and easy to apply, so I’m more likely to reapply it as needed to maintain clear headlights. Even if it keeps my headlights clear for just 3 years, I’ll consider it a worthwhile investment for the clarity and aesthetics it delivers.
I don’t usually write reviews or blog posts about mass-produced car care products—there’s already plenty of coverage out there—but the results, affordability, ease of application, and availability of this kit blew me away, and I had to share. It’s an affordable, simple solution for anyone dealing with oxidized headlights, even heavily clouded lenses. You’ll likely be impressed with the results. The kit is inexpensive, requires no special tools, and includes everything you need. All you’ll need are some towels to dry off water, and if you don’t have an air compressor, just let the headlights and surrounding area air dry for a few hours.
I know this is a departure from the norm here on FunctionTheory, but I bet there’s a bunch of you out there with hazy headlights begging for a cheap fix. So if you give this a try, drop your thoughts below—I’d love to hear! Honestly, I can’t think of anything you can do to your car right now that’s this affordable and yields such killer results. Heck, even a car wash costs about the same. You can reach me on Instagram @FunctionTheory, email me at Billy@FunctionTheory.com, or simply comment below to let me know what you think of this product: Did it deliver the results you were looking for, or did I just make you waste your time and hard-earned money?